Title: Ancient Eden

Author: Carhop

Email: PG-13

Category: Angst, romance, action/adventure

Pairings: Sam/Jack, Teal'c/Drey'ac

Archive: SJD, yes; Heliopolis, yes; others please ask.

Summary: Eden isn't as empty or as virginal as it first looked and people, including Jack, start to go missing.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/ Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the author.

Spoilers: General knowledge of the show, Children of the Gods, The First Ones, Window of Opportunity, The Fifth Race, Frozen, vague references to events mentioned in Solitudes, and The Warrior.

Warnings: Mildly naughty language, violence, sexual references and situations (They are, after all, engaged.), multiple POV.

Status: Part five of the Eden series: "It's a Small World", "Dream World", "Eden Obsession", and "Garden of Eden"

Timeframe: Sometime post-season six, if things had happened differently.

Author's Notes? Indicates words Jack can't translate. Feedback is always much appreciated. Profuse thanks to my excellent beta reader Fulinn and to San Brontecook whose eye for inconsistencies is legendary, IMHO. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Copyright © 2004 1

SAM

Planning a wedding sucks. I couldn't believe the enormous amount of detail and work that goes into it. My estimate was that it took half the time and resources to complete the Manhattan Project than had gone into getting us to the altar. Jack and me, that is. There were six more weeks to go and I could hardly wait – to have it over.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'd always fanaticized of marrying the man of my dreams in a flower-strewn chapel, with both of us deliriously happy. We'd planned for that, but it came with bridesmaid dresses and groomsman gifts, lunches, showers, fittings and ordering invitations. This latter was the easiest of all - just total up the number of people at the SGC, on Eden, plus a few alien friends and you knew how many to order. For security reasons, we planned to hold the wedding on Eden. I felt bad that my brother, Mark, and his family couldn't be there, but Jack and I had intended to see them for a few hours on our way to Maui. Jack might have finally gotten that endless beach and little black bikini he'd been imagining.

JACK

Sam was freaking out over this wedding thing, not that she wasn't getting loads of pressure over it from all sides; plus, doing her regular 28-hour per day job. I'd been through this once and, frankly, had way less to do in the planning than she did. It didn't help that she was incredibly busy catching up with the construction schedule and securing Eden from enemies without.

In the six months since the rebellion fomented by the NID, she had had an iris fitted over the Stargate, built a compound around the Stargate - guarded and staffed 24 x 7 - coordinated the retrieval and installation of two more sets of rings, found another set, and installed a radio repeater station between the two valleys for instant communication. With full sets of rings, including the platforms, they worked much more easily, less jury-rigging involved. We had ready transportation from the Stargate to base, to the future colony site and to the valley below the escarpment. What could I say? Sam was a wonder woman; always has been. It's one of a zillion and one things I loved about her.

The down side was that we hadn't spent much time together and I really missed that. The initial phase of building out the colony site was ramping up and several people had moved to Eden for the first construction projects. In addition to the forty or so US Army Corps of Engineers construction workers, I now had an assistant and six subordinates. They were mostly military or ex-military. The majority of the colonists would be ex-military themselves for security reasons, but we'd be a civilian government overseeing a civilian colony.

With six weeks to go before the wedding, I had a lot of work to do myself. Eden's nineteen-month year made for a long winter, but it was finally winding down. Spring was making a grudging appearance, green or purple shimmered on the edges of nearly everything, and there was a lot of work to do before I left with my brand new bride for an all-too-brief honeymoon. We had to lay foundations for at least the power and recycling/sewage plants. The bare ground that would become the truck garden for the embryonic community was just waiting for the bite of a tiller. Planting couldn't wait too long if we were to raise all of our own produce that year. The timetable set by the project plan was aggressive, to say the least. In four years, it said Eden Colony must be self-sufficient, come hell or high water.

SAM

I sighed as I finished an email to the US ACE commander regarding a section of the Stargate compound that hadn't met the specs, hit the Send key and moved on to the next item. It was another complaint from Sharon Adams, my new lab supervisor, about the ACE troops, one Private Jones in particular, who had been harassing her tab technicians – ogling the women and pushing around the men.

My shoulders slumped and I hung my head, thinking that I felt like such a bureaucrat. I never got time in my own lab anymore and, worse yet, hadn't seen Jack in five days. I needed a hug so badly, not to mention anything else I could use right about now. I hoped, wished, dreamed he'd be home that coming weekend. Jack had stayed most nights in the small working camp set up in the valley to the east, the location of the new colony.

I knew I was mentally whining, but, somehow, this wasn't how I'd imagined my life with Jack - sleeping alone, rarely getting out of my office or seeing my friends. My stomach let out a loud rumble and it dawned on me. I was suffering from low blood sugar. My gut was telling me that I needed to refuel my body. The clock on my PC said it was almost 1400 and I'd skipped breakfast when the first "emergency" collided with my day at 0600. Locking the screen, I stood, stretched until my spine popped and walked out of my office.

"I'm going to grab something to eat, Eric. Page me if something starts to burn down," I threw over my shoulder to my admin, Technical Sergeant Browne. Engrossed in an assignment I'd given him earlier, he grunted and waved absently in my direction.

Smiling at his intense concentration, I walked briskly through the open commons toward the science complex and the mess hall beyond. Had the afternoon been as gray and cold as those of the past six months, I'd have ducked into the complex and followed its series of interconnecting enclosed walkways. However, the sullen overcast of the morning was gone, leaving a glorious spring day. The scrawny twig-like trees planted around the perimeter of the large commons had telltale swellings along each branch, hinting at foliage to come. We'd taken samples of the indigenous flora from around the base to landscape the open spaces of our compound. Far be it from me to introduce inimical or predatory species to this world, so aptly named Eden. Fortunately, Jack and the-powers-that-be agreed with me wholeheartedly. It also had saved money by not importing plants from Earth. Not that I thought budgetary concerns had anything to do with the decision. Noooooo, not me. Command had made me cynical, like someone else I knew.

JACK

"Damn it! What else can go wrong today?" I ranted and stalked away from the cracked foundation Delia Jameson, my Sanitary Engineer, had just shown me. The ACE grunts had messed up another pour. I grabbed my radio and shouted into the innocent device, "Gregory!"

"Uh, yes sir?" sounded the weary voice of the colony project ACE commander.

"Major Gregory, you get your butt over to the waste plant right now!"

"May I ask why, sir? Is anything wrong?" His tone was wary. Things had gone badly for three days now and my anything-but-infinite patience was at an end.

"You might say that, Major. Mrs. Jameson will brief you when you get here. I expect to hear from her later that you've solved the problem. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

Hoping for better news, I stomped toward the area under preparation for planting. The energetic walk helped my mood slightly. It was hard to stay too upset with the beauties of nature around me. The wide, open valley we'd chosen for the new settlement stretched for miles in all directions. The sky was a crystalline blue and reminded me of the eyes of the woman I loved. Down a gentle slope in front of me, about a mile distant, lay a fast-flowing, as yet unnamed river that beckoned to me, "Come fishing, Jack. You know you want to."

Unfortunately or, perhaps, fortunately for my ability to concentrate, a ten-foot wall was quickly forming a barrier between the burbling water and me. We'd designed the wall to surround a square, about a mile on a side, to provide the settlement with a barrier against the local mad, marauding herbivores. The settlement was right in the path of a large annual migration of the local herd beasts called Jackalopes. Some smartass nicknamed the mild-mannered animals after a mythical animal from the American Southwest and the name stuck. Somehow, I don't think the "Jack" part was for their jackrabbit ears. Sam thought it was hilarious. So much for posterity.

SAM

As I walked across the open space separating two of the lab buildings, a view of the ACE troops playing flag football in the field south of the mess hall rapidly opened up before me. My fatigue shirt dangled from my finger over one shoulder. The day was temperate enough that my quick pace made me too warm to wear the extra layer over my long-sleeved tee shirt. I reveled in the sunshine and the warmth it brought, missing only the presence of Jack to make it perfect.

I rounded the last lab structure and headed toward the promise of food. Just then, a body careened into me, spilling us both in a heap. A few seconds later, a hand appeared before my face offering me help getting up.

"Can I help you, lovely lady?" the smirking young soldier on the other end of the hand said.

The anonymous form that had hurtled into me sprang to its feet and turned to face me, contrite, especially when he recognized me. "Geez, I'm sorry, ma'am. Are you hurt? Can I help you up? Do you need to go to the infirmary?" he babbled, apparently afraid I'd pull his ticket.

The smirker shouldered the babbler aside and swaggered closer. "Just ignore my friend here, gorgeous. I'm a lot more fun," he schmoozed with an oily charm and extended his hand again. I ignored it and him, standing up under my own power.

"No harm done, gentlemen. I'll just be on my way and you can get back to your game," I said with a lopsided grin to indicate that there were no hard feelings. The babbler, one Corporal Forrest, looked immensely relieved and stammered his thanks. Nodding to him, I turned and started to step away, when a hand planted itself firmly on my butt and squeezed.

I jerked away, stunned, and spun to face the two men. The smirker, a young man about my height and about as wide, a pint-sized Arnold, was leering at me.

"Just what do you think you're doing, soldier?" I stood, hands on hips, in front of the quaking Forrest and the idiotically grinning private.

"Come on, sweetheart, you know you wanted me to touch you," the grunt asserted.

Forrest grabbed him and shouted, "Shut up, you idiot. Don't you know who she is?"

"Oh, don't tell me. You're Private Jones," I said, guessing he was the one bothering the lab techs.

"The one and only, darlin'. I see my reputation precedes me, and you just had to see for yourself if it was true. Am I right, honey?" Pursing my lips, I shook my head, wondering how someone this stupid could generate enough brainpower to move his mouth and keep his heart beating.

"Corporal Forrest, please escort Private Jones to Major Samuels' office and have him locked in a cell until I can drop by to swear out a complaint for assaulting a superior officer." The extremely annoyed corporal grabbed his fellow soldier by the arm and started hauling him away.

"Superior officer, just who the hell does she think she is?" Jones shouted, trying to pull away. Some of the audience that had gathered ran to help Forrest.

"She's the base commander, you moron! You just goosed the base commander!" Forrest hissed and used the palm of his hand to smack the wriggling carpenter on the back of his head. They hauled Jones away, shouting about women who fd their way into positions of authority and then abused the power. His captors seemed to have no sympathy and one of them clapped her hand over his mouth. My face started to heat up at his insinuations.

As they walked, dragged, and generally manhandled the stocky young man away, I could still hear the corporal shouting at Jones. "You're too stupid to be believed. You'll be lucky if you don't end up cleaning latrines for the next 20 years over this little fiasco. I told you that you should stop being such a dick, but noooooooo, you had to grope a full colonel who's engaged to a general. In front of a million witnesses, too."

I glanced around at the faces of those who still stood staring after Jones. Not one contained a shred of blame for me as they looked back. Perhaps sensing my doubts, a stocky sergeant I recognized asserted, "No ma'am, we don't believe a thing he said. Most of us," he looked at his friends on either side, many of whom nodded, "have been here long enough to know you've more than earned your position."

"Thank you, Sergeant. That means a lot to me." I grinned gratefully and walked toward the mess hall, hoping there was still something left to eat. I mused, 'At least this will solved one of my nastier problems. Sharon will be happy over this turn of events.'

JACK

Kevin Jameson, Delia's husband and my chief botanist, stood to the side of the first five-acre plot under cultivation, supervising two of his men as they tilled the fertile soil.

"Hey, Kevin, how's it going today? Will you be ready to plant on time?"

"Lookin' good, General. We've added all the amendments and should have the tilling done today. After talking with Sgt. Bodine about his experiences gardening last year, we should have our first harvest in four weeks: greens." He grinned widely and I returned the gesture, pleased at his progress. We chatted for a short while and then I moved off toward the crew laying the foundation for the wooden fence.

The wall was well behind schedule. It wasn't anyone's fault; they'd just run into a large patch of clay that had to be dug out before the foundation in that section could be laid. At least the clay would come in handy later when we started making bricks for houses.

Frustrated by setbacks, I headed back to the camp tent we used as an office. My radio bleated and I heard the voice of Captain Kim Fredricks, my architect. "General, come in." I'd sent her and our geologist team searching in the hills to the northwest for a source of gypsum the satellite had identified.

"What's up, Captain?" She sounded keyed up, especially for someone who rarely became animated. She could out-stoic Teal'c.

"You've got to join us up here right away, sir. You won't believe what we've found!"

DANIEL

The news spread from the colony to the base and through the SGC like lightening. They'd found signs of an extremely ancient civilization on Eden. Jack's team had stumbled on the remnants of a barely recognizable stone wall. When turned over, faded carving covered the surfaces.

General Hammond had recalled me immediately from a dig on P4Z-223, where I'd been working for weeks with SG-7. The Stargate spat me out inside the new security compound on Eden, where I faced an array of P90s and M5 rifles until the lead SF recognized me.

"Welcome to Eden, Dr. Jackson. Colonel Carter expects you in her office right away. If you'll follow me to the ring platform, I'll have you there in just a few moments," stated the eager, young lieutenant as we hurried through a doorway. On the other side of the door lay a passageway with several openings on either side. A security station with an armed guard sat behind a bulletproof panel at the opposite end.

"Man, Sam's serious about not letting anyone take over again," I reflected under my breath, glancing around at armored soldiers and artillery pieces on display. Not that I blamed her, after the incident several months ago almost ended with the loss of Eden Base. As it was, over sixty people died, all due to infiltration and betrayal.

The lieutenant no longer seemed so young or friendly. "Yes, sir. No one wants that to happen again. We all appreciate the Colonel's concern for our welfare and our home."

After I signed in, the lieutenant led me through another door to a room that held the ring platform. The operator instructed me to stand on the raised area and then he pushed some buttons on the console before him. Seconds later, I stood in an octagonal closet, just the size of the rings. The door burst open and Sam stepped in, a huge smile on her face.

"Daniel, it's great to see you. Thanks for coming so quickly," she said as her arms embraced me for several seconds.

"Hey, I don't often get an excuse to come here. Now that you've found something interesting, I may get to see you more often," I joked.

"Now, we just have to find something for Teal'c and we'll have the team back together again." Sam grinned and pulled me out of her personal ring room, a hand on my arm. "I can hardly wait to get out of this office for a few hours. Hammond is giving me a brief reprieve from the life of a bureaucrat to escort you up there. I think he knows I've long since gone stir crazy and will run screaming out the door any minute now.

"Give me a minute to reprogram the rings and we can meet Jack at the colony site. I haven't been able to spend the time on the ring program that I'd like. Otherwise, it wouldn't take so long," she said contritely.

"Sam, you certainly have nothing to apologize for. I'm amazed at the incredible improvements you've made in transportation, in everything on Eden. Too bad it's not this easy to get to work back on Earth." I laid my head on her shoulder, eyes tilted up toward her face and teased, "Can I have my own set of rings for Christmas, sis?"

Continued in Part 2